1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to blood collection tube holders for use during a blood collection procedure and, more particularly, to a holder having a needle supporting insert translatable with a cylinder for shielding both ends of a double ended needle after use to prevent inadvertent needle stick.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional blood collection procedures involve venipuncture to draw blood into a blood collection tube. The conventional double ended needle includes a hub having an anterior needle extending in one direction and a posterior needle extending in the other direction. The hub is threadedly engaged with an apertured threaded end of a barrel to locate the posterior needle within the barrel. The other end of the barrel is open to receive an evacuated blood collection tube having a stopper to penetrably receive the posterior needle. Upon venipuncture, the blood will flow through the needle into the blood collection tube. After at least partial fill of the blood collection tube, it may be replaced by one or more further evacuated blood collection tubes, depending upon how many samples of blood are to be drawn.
On completion of the procedure, the anterior needle is withdrawn from the patient. The manner of disposal of the needle varies, depending upon the phlebotomist, the procedures to be followed and other considerations. Whether the needle is immediately capped with a needle shield for later disposal, whether the barrel is immediately disposed with the exposed needle attached or whether the needle is immediately detached or replaced, a substantial risk of inadvertent needle stick exists.
Many incurable or fatal diseases are transmissible through contact with the blood of an infected person. A needle used during a blood collection procedure obviously contains a quantity of blood. In the event of needle stick, infection from infected blood is highly likely. Considering that inadvertent needle stick occurs frequently, the degree of exposure of medical personnel to incurable or fatal diseases is intolerably high.
Particularly in recent years, various devices have been developed to minimize the likelihood of inadvertent needle stick. These devices generally include mechanisms for shielding the anterior needle after a blood collection procedure. Many of these devices perform the function of minimizing the likelihood of inadvertent needle stick but suffer from other drawbacks. Some of the devices require a two handed operation which renders such devices unacceptable since a phlebotomist must have one hand free to perform blood collection related functions. Some of the devices are relatively complex which renders their cost too high to be acceptable to medical facility administrators, particularly if such devices are not reusable. Yet other blood collection devices are complex to operate and require substantial training in proper manipulation. Such training is difficult and expensive to implement and there exists a general resistance to adaptation or modification of existing procedures, despite an understanding of increased safety which would result.